The Thorns have announced the signing of Finnish international Natalia Kuikka. Kuikka is a defender out of Florida State who captained the Seminoles when they won the 2018 NCAA championship. She was projected as a potential top-five pick in the 2019 college draft, but opted out to sign with Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC in the Swedish Damallsvenskan, where she’s currently in her second season.
This signing likely means the Thorns are expecting to lose defenders in the offseason, whether to the expansion draft or elsewhere. Before the Fall Series, Mark Parsons hinted at doubts around Katherine Reynolds’s future, saying she planned to reevaluate her options going forward after suffering a concussion in the quarterfinal of the Challenge Cup. At age 33 and having dealt with a string of injuries in recent years, it doesn’t seem unlikely that retirement is among those options.
Kuikka has played as a center back both in Sweden and for FSU, but she started her college career as a winger. Thus, it’s plausible that Portland may be bringing her in as an option at outside back as well, a position they’re currently thinner at than they are in central defense.
Regardless of who ends up staying or leaving during this offseason, this also looks like a smart longer-term move for the Thorns, who have several defenders in their 30s, including not just Reynolds but Becky Sauerbrunn and Meghan Klingenberg. Kuikka is a smart, physically strong defender who stood out at FSU for her confidence on the ball and ability to play out of the back in coach Mark Krikorian’s possession-oriented system.